Cuts and Bruises
by RosesAreForWriters
Summary: This takes place after the "Haunted" episode, where Robin thinks Slade is back, but he isn't. Robin still has the wounds of that experience, and Raven is really the only one who understands how he feels. Warning: Just the slightest bit of cuddling.


**A/N: I've been working on this for a week...thank gosh I actually did! So, instead of Robin/Jinx, I think it would be better to have a Robin/Raven story. Hope you like it!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, but I watch them on TV all the time. Yeah, so here you go.  
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"Cuts and Bruises"

They weren't imaginary. Even after Robin let go of the fact it wasn't Slade, Slade _wasn't_ back, if he pressed down on a bruise, it really _hurt_. The cuts and bruises that he received while he was delirious, were _real_. He just wished he hadn't gone down to that basement to make sure the "souvenirs" were still there. Going through all of that, and during a storm no less, was something he could've lived without doing.

A particular spot on his left arm was worse than the others. A cut or two ran deeper, and there was a small brown bruise just below it. That certainly didn't help to stop the bleeding. He had to wear a bandage around it, but it was high enough that he could cover it with his sleeve. Since it's black, the others wouldn't notice the slight swell on his upper arm. He should've known, at least one person would notice.

"Please tell me you've been working favorably on your left arm and you don't have an actual hurt or swollen arm," Raven spoke in her monotone voice as she and Robin walked down the hall. It was very late then, and they were both worn out, practically trudging to their rooms, not lifting their feet. Robin quickly thought of an answer.

"As a right handed person, I feared that my left arm would be much less developed. I worried too much," he said coolly. She responded with a half smile, and a very short muffled laugh.

"So if I lift up your sleeve, I'll see muscle, and not what appears to be the outline of a…bandage?" she asked, squinting at Robin's bicep. He grinned lazily.

"That's exactly what you'll find," he answered stupidly. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hold her slight amusement. She used her powers to lift up his sleeve. Once she saw the slightly bloody wrap, she sighed. There was just a little bit of heaviness around them now, but not much. Robin for some reason felt goofy, and he was tired. He couldn't precisely understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Are you going to change it once you get to your room? I'm pretty sure you're bleeding right now," she murmured, staring at the blood starting to seep through. Robin looked at it, then shrugged.

"Probably, but simply out of habit. I can't really feel the blood anymore. I bet it's kind of like when you girls wear your feminine products," he joked, poking her nose. She stared at him like he just said something weird…which he did. Still, she understood how he felt.

"You took some pain medication earlier, didn't you?" she finally understood the strange silly behavior he was showing. He started to laugh.

"Yeah…but I'm tired. A second ago I didn't understand why I couldn't quit smiling…do my teeth look big to you?" he opened his lips wide, and she blankly stared at him. If she just steered him to his bed, he'd be out like a light.

"Okay, Boy Wonder, why don't you just lay down, and I'll change the bandage for you? You just close your eyes, and go to sleep," she sighed, helping him lay down. He was straight like a rod, as if waiting for a massage. She looked around for the gauze.

"Dresser, top drawer, left front corner," he informed clearly, appearing not to have opened his eyes. She couldn't tell with his mask on. He didn't need to in order to know she had no clue where the gauze was.

"Why did you want to hide this?" Raven asked once she started to unwrap the old material off. Robin shrugged his other shoulder.

"I don't want to remind anybody about what happened. I just want it to go away…" Robin breathed, each word more heavy with sleep than the last. Raven looked up as she was about finished, and noticed he was already deep into sleep.

"Not everyone here knows how to forget, Robin," Raven muttered, rubbing the tiniest bruise on her chin as she left the room.

Once Raven got to her dark room, she slid off her cape and was too tired to hang it up. As she walked it slipped from her hand, and she practically fell face forward onto her bed. After a second she finished contemplating whether or not she would be comfortable with her knees on the edge, and crawled up to her pillows, and curled into a ball. She squeezed her eyes shut at first, and as she came closer to sleep, her eyelids relaxed.

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Hours later, the tower was silent, except for two people tossing and turning. Robin was not consciously aware that the pain medication had wore off, and he couldn't find a single angle where he could really be comfortable. Plus, his bed was far too warm for his comfort. Finally, his body gave up, and he opened his eyes. It was like he had been awake for hours, because he simply opened his eyes, and he didn't feel incredibly tired. It was too dark to be morning, so he just laid there.

She knew there was a possibility of this happening. They shared a bond now, and if she was particularly sensitive towards him after something happened, she'd be more in tune with what was happening from his point of view. After becoming aware of his wound, that was deeper and slightly longer than the others, she just felt a little jolted that she didn't know about it before.

She was too tired to acknowledge that she might even dream whatever he dreamt that night, and that she might wake up with him in the morning. She really didn't think that the pain medication would wear off, and she'd be waking up at an ungodly hour just like him. She felt uncomfortable, and she had no idea why. Then, it hit her.

Robin was awake, uncomfortable, and once she noticed she felt hotter than she should under her cool sheets, knew that he was hot too. Great. Now she was awake because of him, but ultimately, it was her fault. She should have known the decision to help him would haunt her someday.

"Raven? Are you up?" a voice asked, after knocking on her door. She frowned, knowing the voice. She got up, and as she walked to the door, she answered.

"I am, thanks to you," she raised her voice enough so that she could hear him. She was still frowning when the door quickly slid open. He wasn't grinning though, and that made it slightly better.

"I'm sorry, I figured you were meditating or something, because one second I'm squirming, the next half the discomfort went away. I thought that was you," he confessed. She still glowered at him.

"That would explain why I don't feel so normal. You're sweating," she noticed his slight perspiration. He wiped the back of his forehead.

"I probably had some nightmares I can't remember anything about…" he trailed off, an apologetic yet awkward expression and stance dominated his body. She sighed, and let him in her room. Robin looked around, the unfamiliar dark items giving off some sort of edge.

Then, next to a few books on a shelf, were two picture frames. One of the five of them, and then another, of just her and Robin. He smiled.

"Do you like me better than the others?" he asked, holding up the picture so she knew what he was talking about. She shrugged, one corner of her mouth going up.

"I'm closest to _you_, yeah. If I tried one with Beast Boy, the picture would be of him telling me some horrendous joke, and with Starfire, she'd be so excited she would come out as a blur. I guess maybe Cyborg would be alright." Robin laughed and agreed.

"Robin, what exactly is the purpose of this visit?" Raven asked after a second of silence. She didn't mean it in any suspicious way, she just wanted to know. Robin shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I just…maybe I didn't want to be alone," he answered her, blushing once he realized why he probably came to Raven. Raven smiled at him.

"You aren't. I probably had nightmares earlier too, but I can't remember if I did. I'm the queen of nightmares," she joked. He laughed, because he could relate.

"We really must be best friends then," he said softly. It went back to quiet, the only sounds being of slight city noises.

"I need to meditate. I'm going to get some more pain killers for you, and you can crash on my bed, I guess. My bed is right under an air vent," she spoke in her monotone voice on purpose, to avoid showing any emotion. She left the room. Robin wasn't feeling too much either, because he was simply exhausted. He walked to the bed, and fell onto it immediately. He tried getting comfortable, but from squirming in his own bed earlier made some cuts raw. Raven came back into her room, and injected the morphine into his system, then went ten feet away to meditate.

"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos," she chanted. She was just enough tuned into the outside world to feel herself float an extra inch or two. Her muscles relaxed, her mind relaxed, and she was then in her happy place. Her emotions were controlled, and she didn't have to worry about fighting crime, or how to keep everything and everyone quiet, because for now, it was silent.

She must've meditated for at least an hour, because she opened her eyes to find the room even darker than before. Several of the bright lights in the city were off now. She touched her feet to the floor, and sluggishly walked to her bed, completely forgetting about Robin. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and was already out when an unconscious Robin threw an arm around her waist. They'd probably freak out in the morning, but for the moment, they just needed sleep.

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**A/N: So what did you think? I hope you guys enjoyed it!  
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**~RosesAreForWriters  
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